


Muse

by Aeradae



Series: Cullrian One-shots [12]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Finding Your Muse, First Meetings, Fluff, Inspiration, M/M, Performing in Public, cullrian - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-27 17:52:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6293980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeradae/pseuds/Aeradae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[Modern AU] Dorian searches for inspiration for his art project, and ends up finding it in an unexpected place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Muse

**Author's Note:**

> Based on an Anon prompt: Ooh, what about a modern au where Cullen lives off singing with his acoustic guitar on streets? I’m thinking maybe Dorian could be an art student who hears Cullen one night and grows fond of him?

_Draw something that inspires you. Find something that speaks to you with such intensity that there is no way you can ignore it. Search for a particularly moving moment in time that you feel compelled to capture on paper. Marks will be deducted if the effort put into this project does not appear convincing. Work hard and have fun!_

Dorian glared down at the project instructions in his hand. “What is that even supposed to _mean_? She could have just asked us to draw the view outside our bedroom window or our favourite place to spend time or something, but _no_ , she had to make it so damn complicated,” he grumbled to himself as he walked down the street, lost in thought. He was determined to do as well on this project as he had on the previous ones, but he didn’t even know where to begin looking for such a powerful muse. Nothing in this new life he had built for himself really seemed to fit the criteria.

He wandered aimlessly for a while, wracking his brain for any ideas that might satisfy his professor. His feet carried him towards a small garden plaza not far from the college. The soft sounds of music were coming from inside, and he tilted his head to listen. An acoustic guitar, he thought. Curious and having nowhere he urgently needed to be, Dorian strolled inside to find the source of the music.

There was a young man, about his own age, sitting in the middle of the plaza with a guitar in his lap and a tip box at his feet. Golden curls stirred in the slight breeze as he tossed his head occasionally to keep them out of the way. His eyes were half-closed in concentration as his nimble fingers moved effortlessly across the strings. Dorian noticed he had an intriguing scar that bisected his upper lip and trailed up towards his cheekbone. The afternoon sun highlighted the scar _just so_ when the man tilted his head a certain way, a pale expanse of skin amidst the freckles on his nose and cheeks.

Their eyes met as the man looked up, warm amber into cool silver, and Dorian felt his breath catch. A small smile appeared on the man’s lips, slightly crooked from the scar but dazzling nonetheless. _He is absolutely gorgeous_. Normally bold and confident, Dorian found himself quickly looking away after giving a nervous smile of his own. He sat down on a nearby bench and pretended to check a message on his phone.

Dorian’s eyes snapped back up to watch the man as he unexpectedly began to sing. Heart beating quickly in his chest, Dorian found himself captivated by the hauntingly beautiful love song, his foot tapping along in time with the music. The blonde’s voice was deep and rich, soft but melodic, a perfect companion to the steady strumming of the guitar strings. His eyes slid closed as he lost himself in the song, oblivious to those who shared the plaza. He was in his element, doing something he obviously loved, and completely at ease showcasing his talent to anyone who would listen.

 _Draw something that inspires you_ … Dorian dug into his bag and pulled out his sketch book and a pencil. He propped the book against his knee, analyzing the scene in front of him for a moment before touching the pencil to the page and making the first vague circles. Normally he struggled a little to sketch a moving model, but Dorian found himself confidently finishing the initial sketching and beginning to add in some details with hardly a moment of hesitation. He had never drawn so quickly and easily in his life, and soon he was completely absorbed in his work.

Disappointment pooled in his gut as he suddenly realized that the music had stopped. It appeared as though the man was finished playing for the day. Dorian quickly threw his things into his bag and rummaged around for some change. He didn’t have much to spare at the moment, as his parents had recently stopped sending him money when found out he was taking art in college instead of law, but he felt as if the stranger had more than earned the little coin he could offer.

“Thank you kindly,” the blonde murmured with another brilliant smile as Dorian added to his tip box.

The sound of his voice was enough to cause goosebumps to break out across Dorian’s skin. “I’m sorry I couldn’t offer you more, actually. You’re very good.”

“Ah, why thank you.” Dorian was both surprised and amused to notice the blush that darkened the other man’s cheeks at the compliment. “Please don’t feel obligated to leave anything, though. I would hate to take from those that are also struggling to get by.”

Dorian’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Is this how you earn enough money to get by?”

“I have a job, but there never seem to be enough hours for me. This helps to make sure all the bills are covered. I can’t really complain, because I enjoy doing this most of the time. Unless it’s raining, of course.”

“I’m sure your curly hair wouldn’t thank you for that,” Dorian replied with a small snicker.

The blonde chuckled. “When it rains I wear a hat so that I don’t frighten people away.” He readjusted the strap of his guitar case over his shoulder. “Uh, well, it was really nice to meet you, but unfortunately I should be going. My sister is waiting to meet up with me.”

“Oh, of course! Before you go, I was wondering if you perform here often?”

“Generally three or four days a week. More in the summer, especially in the evenings. You could always come and visit sometime if you’re in the area again. My name is Cullen.”

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Dorian. I may indeed drop in again if I have the time.”

“I look forward to it. Until next time.” With a little wave, Cullen was gone.

And that is how Dorian found himself coming to the plaza whenever he had free time or needed to work on his art project. Most of the time Cullen was there performing. He would sit on an empty out of the way bench and make sketches as the music washed over him. Yes, he had found his inspiration, his muse.

\---

“Is that… is that me?” a voice asked from behind Dorian’s right shoulder one day.

Dorian yelped in surprise, jumping off the bench and dropping his art materials onto the ground in the process. He had been so absorbed in shading his latest sketch that he had failed to realize Cullen had stopped playing and had wandered over to say hello. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!” he growled as he frowned and clutched at his chest dramatically.

“Oh, ah, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” Cullen bent down to retrieve Dorian’s things, tilting his head to look at the sketch he had been working on.

“You didn’t frighten me, you startled me,” Dorian corrected, trying and failing to divert Cullen’s attention away from the sketch as he reached for the book.

Cullen held the book just out of Dorian’s reach as he examined it more closely. “Wow, this looks just like me, crooked smile and all. This is really good, Dorian. You are quite talented.”

“Really? Oh, why thank you.” Dorian absently rubbed his hand through the shaved section of hair above his right ear.

“Are there others? Or, I mean, do you mind if I have a look through your sketchbook?”

“Uh, sure. I have to warn you though, some of the stuff in there is really rough.” Dorian sat down next to Cullen, absently picking at invisible threads on his pants as he watched Cullen flip through the book. To his embarrassment he suddenly realized he had a _lot_ of sketches of Cullen, but it was too late to change his answer or tear the book out of his hands now.

Cullen took his time looking through the book, silent except for a few hums of approval here and there. When he was finished he sat quietly for a moment, lost in thought. “May I ask why you drew all of these sketches of me?” he asked finally. “There are a lot of beautiful and interesting things just in this little plaza alone, not to mention the amazing stuff that can be found in the rest of the city. I can’t for the life of me understand how I could be that interesting to you.”

“One of my college art projects requires me to draw something that genuinely inspires me. For a long time I didn’t think I would ever find something that did. But then when I was walking home one day I heard you performing, and stopped to listen. Your music and your voice are truly beautiful. And the way you perform, it’s like you put everything you have into your music, like you have no cares in the world. It’s as if the world has been reduced to nothing but you and your guitar. That really moved me and inspired me. So, I started sketching that first day I met you, and here we are.”

Cullen blushed and rubbed at the back of his neck. “I’ve never had anyone compliment me quite like that before. Thank you. I never thought of it that way. I just… I really love to play guitar and sing, and out here I can actually feel encouraged to do so. I don’t often get the chance to do it much at home because my roommates complain about the noise.”

“That is a tragedy. They should encourage you to play when you have such an incredible gift.”

“Yeah well, it happens. It’s nice to know that what I do is appreciated. Thank you.” Cullen looked down at his feet for a moment. “Hey, I’m not sure if I’m reading all the signals correctly, but would you… um… would you want to go out with me sometime? I don’t know if that is something that you would be interested in ever doing, and it’s probably a really weird and possibly awkward thing to be asked by a complete stranger, but I thought that I would give it a--”

Dorian turned and stopped him with a finger against his lips. “I would love to.”

“You, you would?” Cullen asked incredulously.

Dorian laughed and patted his shoulder lightly. “I really would.”

Cullen cough nervously. “Well, that went much better than expected. Good. I’m glad. Can I, uh, have your number so we arrange a date and time, then?”

Flipping to an empty page, Dorian wrote down his name and number on the lower half of the paper. Carefully ripping the same half out of the sketch pad, he handed it to Cullen, who carefully tucked it away in his pocket. Cullen rotated the book towards himself and took the offered pencil to write his own information down. Dorian swallowed thickly as one of Cullen’s hands rested lightly against his knee while he held the pad steady.

“Thank you. Would it be alright if I texted you later on tonight?” Cullen asked as he handed the pencil back.

Their fingers brushed for a brief moment, and suddenly it was too warm for even Dorian’s comfort. “That’s… yes, that would be fine.” He stowed his art materials in his bag and got to his feet. “I should probably get home and get a proper start on this project.”

“Alright. So I will text you later then." To Dorian’s surprise, Cullen impulsively leaned over to press a soft kiss against Dorian’s cheek. Suddenly realizing what he had done, Cullen's eyes widened and his cheeks turned crimson as he grabbed his guitar and gave a quick wave before disappearing down the street.

In a daze Dorian reached up to touch where Cullen’s lips had brushed against his skin. “Yes, until then.”

 


End file.
